Entertainment
Iran war redraws sea routes with Africa as the pivot
PARIS: The closure of the Strait of Hormuz as well as tensions in the Red Sea are reshaping trade routes, with Africa becoming a hub of global container ship traffic, according to logistics and maritime sources.
Over the past two months, the blockade has also pushed shipowners to find alternative land corridors to deliver foodstuffs and manufactured goods by truck, as they can no longer reach the Gulf’s coastal countries by sea.
What are the alternative routes for delivering to Gulf countries?
The Saudi port of Jeddah on the Red Sea is becoming a new regional “hub”, where ships from maritime giants MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk and Cosco arrive via the Suez Canal.
Cargo then leaves by truck along a desert highway to deliver to places such as Sharjah, Bahrain and Kuwait, which have not been served by sea for the past two months.
“The port of Jeddah is not at all sized to handle such import volumes and a port congestion situation is emerging,” Arthur Barillas de The, cofounder of freight forwarder Ovrsea, told AFP.
According to data from Kpler Marine Traffic, 11 container ships were docked in Jeddah on Thursday, with nine waiting, and an average wait of 36 hours before unloading compared to 17 hours the previous week.
Shipowners have said they will use three ports outside the Strait of Hormuz — Oman’s Sohar, and the UAE ports of Khorfakkan and Fujairah, which are connected by land from the United Arab Emirates.
The port of Aqaba in Jordan serves as a base for sending goods to Baghdad and Basra in Iraq, while a Turkish corridor is also allowing goods into northern Iraq.
On international routes, why are Asia-Europe container ships avoiding the Suez Canal?
The situation started well before the war in Iran but is very much connected to the conflict.
Avoiding the Red Sea from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Suez Canal dates back to November 19, 2023 and the first attack on a container ship by Iran-backed Houthi militias from the coast of Yemen, said CyclOpe, a specialist commodities publication.
The rerouting of ships has now become systematic, said Ronan Boudet, head of container intelligence at Kpler.
They skirt around Africa by following its eastern coast as far as the Cape of Good Hope in southern South Africa before heading back north towards Europe and the Mediterranean.
“With the current situation in the Gulf, we have put several more coins in the machine, it’s not going to get better anytime soon,” Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, chairman of French shipping giant Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, told AFP.
“Today, 70% of the freight traffic that went through the Red Sea in 2023 is being rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope,” added Yves Guillo, a supply chain expert at Efeso, a management consultancy in Paris.
According to data from the International Monetary Fund’s PortWatch platform based on ships’ GPS signals, commercial vessel traffic via the Cape of Good Hope has more than tripled in three years, while traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has fallen by more than half.
Between March 1 and April 24 this year, an average of 20 commercial vessels went round the Cape of Good Hope every day compared with six in the same period in 2023.
By comparison, traffic in the Red Sea has plummeted: from 18 transits per day through Bab al-Mandeb between March and April 2023, the average fell to five three years later.
What are the consequences?
Transport times have lengthened between Asia and Europe by an average of two weeks and costs have risen because 30 to 50% more fuel is needed and 10 to 20% more ships to ensure the same frequency of service, said Guillo.
The average price to transport a standard 40-foot container on the main shipping routes increased by 14% in April compared to the same period last year, he added, citing changes in the Drewry freight index.
Large differences exist between routes: some African ports are seeing their activity increase. The Tanger Med Port Authority said it handled 11 million standard containers in 2025 — up 8.4%.
But Egypt lost toll revenues from the Suez Canal, which make up a large part of its income. According to CyclOpe, in 2024 it lost $7 billion — a drop of more than 60% compared with 2023.
King Charles III’s wise move proves he will never ditch his late mother Queen Elizabeth’s legacy as he makes secret efforts to keep the family united.
The 77-year-old’s nod to his niece Princess Eugenie has raised hopes for Andrew and Fergi’es reunion as speculation about the former Duke and Duchess of York’s future move has escalated, attracting massive media attention.
The much-needed relief for the York family comes at a time when Andrew and Ferguson’s controversies have loomed large over their lives.
A royal expert claims Andrew will not really settle in Sandringham, and Sarah is obviously looking for an escape route after her latest hiding place was discovered.
“I have a suspicion both might end up in Portugal to be close to their grandchildren and lead a simpler, quieter life,” royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner claimed to Fox News Digital.
However, attention has returned to the Yorks after King Charles’ nod to his niece Eugenie as the Palace took the step to embrace the York family and celebrate their joyful moments publicly.
The new arival may releses stress from Beatrice and Eugenie’s disgraced parents, who have been in forced exile since the King stripped them of their royal tiles and patronages..
Lauren Sánchez Bezos took her Met Gala preparation to an unexpected place: the New York Fire Department.
Days before stepping onto the red carpet May 4, the 56 year old journalist and philanthropist joined FDNY for a full training routine, complete with gear drills, smoke filled obstacle courses, and life saving techniques.
“It’s probably the most unique Met prep ever,” Sánchez told Vogue. “It was bananas, but I loved it. I probably lost about two pounds doing it.”
The honourary co chair of this year’s gala shared footage of the workout on Instagram, noting the session benefited the Leary Firefighters Foundation and FDNY Foundation.
“They do not mess around,” she wrote, adding that the experience gave her “a very small glimpse into the strength, discipline, and courage firefighters bring to their work.”
Her training coincided with International Firefighters’ Day on May 4, a detail Sánchez highlighted in her tribute: “Thank you to firefighters everywhere for your service.”
On the Met steps, Sánchez channeled John Singer Sargent’s 1883 painting Madame X in a midnight blue Schiaparelli gown by Daniel Roseberry.
The corseted look featured a jeweled strap draped over one shoulder, paired with Lorraine Schwartz earrings.
Inside the gala, she was joined by husband Jeff Bezos, who kept his look classic in a black tuxedo and bowtie.
- Victim abducted at gunpoint outside Islamabad residence.
- Main suspect, female accomplice arrested from Swat.
- Police recover the vehicle used in kidnapping incident.
ISLAMABAD: The body of a young man abducted from Islamabad’s F-6 area has been recovered from Mardan, police said on Tuesday, adding that the victim appeared to have been subjected to torture.
According to police, the body was shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where a post-mortem examination is scheduled to be conducted.
The deceased was identified by his family as 30-year-old Farrukh Afzal. His family claimed that he was abducted in front of his father, adding that the kidnappers opened fire when they attempted to resist.
Speaking to Geo News, a relative of the victim said that when Afzal arrived home late at night at around 12:04am and was getting out of his car, right at that time, three people tried to kidnap him.
“A neighbour called [police], and his parents came out of their house after hearing his screams, but the armed kidnappers took him away,” he said, claiming that the boy could have been saved if the police had taken action at the time and placed blockades.
“However, no action was taken, which is why such an incident took place in the safe city of Islamabad, especially in a place like F-6/1, which is near the Red Zone,” he said, raising the question of how armed people can abduct a boy in Islamabad and kill him in Mardan.
Meanwhile, the police said, the abduction took place when the victim was returning home and opening the gate of his house in Islamabad’s F-6/1 area, where four armed men forcibly took him away in a vehicle after firing shots.
A first information report (FIR) was registered at Kohsar police station on the complaint of the victim’s father.
According to the FIR, the complainant rushed outside after hearing noise around midnight and saw four to five unidentified individuals abducting his son. When he and his neighbours tried to intervene, the suspects opened fire and fled with the victim.
Police said that the main suspect, along with a woman accomplice, was arrested in Swat, while the vehicle used in the kidnapping has also been recovered.
Authorities said investigations are ongoing from multiple angles, and efforts are underway to trace other suspects involved in the incident.
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